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Yoga Therapy: Foundations, Methods, and Practices for Common Ailments
Paperback, 720 pages
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
ISBN: 9781623171070
Dimensions: 8 x 10
Also in Kindle format
From the back cover:
From the best-selling author of Teaching Yoga, Yoga Sequencing, and Yoga Adjustments comes this essential resource for learning how to adapt yoga practices to best accommodate and heal a wide array of common injuries and ailments. Surveying historical writings on yoga, ayurveda, and scientific medical approaches to health and healing, Mark Stephens distills the received wisdom of ancient and modern practices for more insightful and practical application in today's world. He applies these insights to healing musculoskeletal injuries, promoting a healthy reproductive system, and addressing mental, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. With each health condition, Stephens applies yoga to the most recent evidence-based practices for healing, offering an integral place for yoga in integrative health practices.Â
Yoga Therapy is a practical manual for yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and anyone interested in applying yoga to healing common ailments, offering a systematic approach of considering the nature of each health condition and the specific asanas, pranayamas, and meditations most helpful in healing it. Stephens invites yoga therapists, teachers and students to relate to health as a continuous, dynamic process of self-care in which the qualities of personal experience and social connectivity matter, while charting a path for integrating yoga with evidence-based health practices. He illustrates that how we live our lives—including our emotional states, nutrition, sleep, relationships, and sense of purpose—is reflected in our sense of balance (or imbalance) and well-being (or disease). Comprehensive, accessible, and informed by Mark Stephens’ decades of deep study, practice, and teaching, this will become an indispensable reference.
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PRAISE FOR YOGA THERAPY
Timothy McCall, M.D.
Medical Editor, Yoga Journal, author, Yoga As Medicine, co-editor, The Principles and Practice of Yoga in Health Care
"Mark Stephens has done a yeoman's job to assemble much of the background information aspiring yoga therapists will need to understand. This book is smart, thoughtful and well-researched and doesn't shy away from presenting a strong — and sometimes provocative — point of view. I recommended it highly."
Janice Gates
Past president, International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), author of Yogini: The Power of Women in Yoga
"A deep bow to Mark Stephens for this substantial contribution to the growing field of yoga therapy! Thoroughly grounded in yoga's historical and philosophical foundations, this book balances well-researched, practical information with heart-felt wisdom. From the insightful section on Healing and Curing to the practical applications of yoga therapy for a wide range of conditions, Mark skillfully conveys the truly integrative nature of yoga therapy. An essential resource for yoga therapists, clinicians and educators in the field!"
David Emerson
Author of Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy and Director of Yoga Service, The Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute
"Mark Stephens' sober but optimistic assessment of the potential for yoga therapy inside the western medical model is a welcome addition. My hope is that the field will follow his well-informed guidance in the attempt to responsibly integrate these two models of health-care that have so much to offer each other because, ultimately, it is the patients that will benefit."
Nischala Joy Devi
Yoga teacher and therapist; author, The Healing Path of Yoga and The Secret Power of Yoga
"Yoga Therapy, a thorough and comprehensive landmark book, offers illuminating insight into Yoga, Yoga Therapy and the interface with western medicine. Along with Stephens’ generous offering of practical information, he espouses the attributes of kindness and compassion in yoga therapy practice, which although often overlooked, is indeed the very heart of yoga, itself. An essential read for every yoga therapist!"
Micah Mortali
Director, The Kripalu Schools (School of Integrative Yoga Therapy, School of Yoga, School of Ayurveda), Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health
"Mark’s capacity for conveying both the depth and the breadth of the yogic sciences are all the more powerful because of his commitment to practice. His works to date on teaching, sequencing and adjustments have already established him as one of the foremost authorities in yoga education. Mark now brings his scholar’s mind and practitioners wisdom to the field. A boon for all!."
Barbara Dossey
PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, HWNC-BC, Author of Holistic Nursing and Co-Director, International Nurse Coach Association
"This comprehensive textbook for yoga therapists offers an original synthesis of yoga practices with the insights of western medicine. It should be in the hands of every serious yoga therapist and yoga teachers who want to help their students in healing what ails them."
DAVID GORDON WHITE
Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Religion, UCSB, author of The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: A Biography and Dæmons Are Forever: Contacts and Exchanges in the Eurasian Pandemonium; editor, Yoga in Practice and Tantra in Practice
"Going back to the time of the Buddha, yoga practitioners have been divided into two groups: Experimentalists who know yoga through their bodies and Speculatives who know yoga through philosophical teachings. Mark Stephens' Yoga Therapy is proof that he has mastered both paths.”
Table of Contents
Introduction: Yoga for Healing and Wholeness
Being Healthy Human Beings
The Promise of Yoga in HealingÂ
PART I: The Origins and Sources of Yoga Therapy
Chapter 1: Yoga
What Is Yoga?
A Very Brief History of Yoga
Hatha Yoga
Chapter 2: Ayurvedic Sources
The Origins, Sources, and Development of Ayurveda
Ayurveda’s Underlying Philosophy and Principles
Etiology: The Causes of Disease in Ayurvedic Theory
Chapter 3: Modern Medical Science
From Mysticism to the Scientific Method
Scientific Advances
Integrating the Healing Arts and Sciences
The Efficacy and Limitations of Scientific Medicine
The Efficacy and Limitations of Holistic Medicine
Healing and Curing: Toward an Integrative Approach
Integrative Health in Practice
Essential Considerations in Health and HealingÂ
PART II: The Human Bodymind’s Major Systems
Chapter 4: Skin: The Integumentary
The Epidermis, Dermis, and Hypodermis
Deep Fascia
Common Integumentary Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Integumentary System
Chapter 5: Bones and Joints: The Skeletal System
Bones
Joints
Joint Stability and Movement
Describing Anatomical Direction
Movement in Planes of Motion
Common Bone and Joint Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Skeletal SystemÂ
Chapter 6: Muscles: The Muscular System
The Skeletal Muscle
The Musculoskeletal System
Common Muscular Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Muscular SystemÂ
Chapter 7: The Nervous System
The Central Nervous System
The Peripheral Nervous System
Common Neurological Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Neurological System
Chapter 8: Kinesiology and the Biomechanics of Movement
Moving into Stillness
The Nature of Human Movement
Proprioception and Refined Movement
Chapter 9: Heart and Blood: The Cardiovascular System
Heart and Soul
The Heart and Circulation
Common Heart Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Heart
Chapter 10: Cleansing and Defending: The Lymphatic
Moving Fluids
Lymphoid Tissues and Organs
Natural Defense and Healing Systems
Common Lymphatic Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Lymphatic System
Chapter 11: Breathing: The Respiratory System
Pneuma and the Exchange of Energy
The Organs of Respiration
Common Respiratory Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Respiratory System
Chapter 12: Glands: The Endocrine System
Hormones as Communicators
Common Endocrine Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Endocrine System
Chapter 13: Digestion: The Digestive System
How Much of You Is What You Eat?
The Digestive Tract
The Mouth and Throat
The Teeth
The Stomach
The Small Intestine
The Large Intestine
The Liver and Gallbladder in Digestion
The Pancreas
Common Digestive Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Digestive System
Chapter 14: Letting Go: The Urinary System
Filtering
The Kidneys
The Bladder
Common Urinary Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Urinary System
Chapter 15: Ultimate Human Creativity: The Reproductive System
Sexual Reproduction
The Male Reproductive System
The Female Reproductive System
Fertilization and Human Development
Common Reproductive Pathologies
Cultivating a Healthy Reproductive System
PART III: Helping Others Heal with YogaÂ
Chapter 16: Integrity in Yoga Therapy: Teachers, Healers, and Therapists
Yoga Therapy as a Clearly Defined Practice
Chapter 17: Communicating and Interacting in Yoga Therapy
Guiding Principles in the Healing Relationship: Kriyas and Yamas
Principles and Skills for Interacting with Students and Clients
Developing Healing Communication Skills
Mindful Listening
Attentive Presence
Directive Dialogue
Nondirective Dialogue
Chapter 18: Assessing and Planning Healing Practices
Self- and Client-Assessments
Interviewing and Assessing
Creating a Therapeutic Yoga Practice Treatment Plan
Implementing a Therapeutic Yoga Practice Treatment Plan
PART IV: Yoga Therapy Practices
Chapter 19: Asana Practices
The Heart of Practicing Yoga Asanas
The Bodymind, Somatics, and Personal Choices in Health and Healing
The Essential Qualities of Asana Practice
Adaptive Practices
Chapter 20: Pranayama Practices
The Discovery and Development of Pranayama
Cultivating Basic Breath Awareness
Refining the Flow of the Breath
Deepening and Refining Pranayama Practices
Chapter 21: Meditation Practices
Patanjali’s Isolation Path: Pratyahara,
Dharana, Dhyana
Taking One Seat
Six Guided Meditation Techniques
When to Meditate
Meditating amid the Body and Breath
PART V: Healing Common Conditions
Chapter 22: Healing Musculoskeletal Conditions
Feet, Ankle, and Lower Leg Issues
Knee Issues
Upper Leg and Hip Issues
Spinal and Neck Conditions
Shoulder, Arm, and Hand Conditions
Chapter 23: Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Conditions
Cultivating Emotional and Mental Health
Alzheimer’s Disease
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Substance Abuse
Depression and Anxiety
Insomnia
Chapter 24: Practices for a Healthy Reproductive System
Practices for Women’s Reproductive System Health
Infertility
Endometriosis
Male Prostatitis
Erectile Dysfunction
PART VI: Epilogue: The Promising Future of Yoga Therapy
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